US Military Wants to Hide Drones Under the Sea

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Hollywood films often show alien ships or giant monsters rising
from the ocean depths to threaten humanity's existence. The U.S.
military envisions a more realistic scenario of hiding robotic
drones, sensors or decoys on the ocean floor so that they can
rise to the occasion when needed.

The idea of hiding sneaky spy technologies beneath the waves
comes from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency. The agency described its
Upward Falling Payloads program as an effort to hide
underwater capsules that could be triggered remotely to activate,
float to the surface and release their payloads of sensor buoys
or even flying drones.

"The concealment of the sea also provides opportunity to surprise
maritime targets from below, while its vastness provides
opportunity to simultaneously operate across great distances,"
DARPA said in a broad agency announcement on Jan. 11.

Earth's oceans provide plenty of hiding places for robots to
engage in some "cheap stealth" — about 50 percent of the oceans
reach depths deeper than 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). DARPA's ideal
payload would fit within a spherical capsule 17 inches in
diameter or a cylinder about 5 inches in diameter and 36 inches
in length.

The idea of deploying robots from beneath the waves has some
precedent, given how the Navy has tested the launch of flying
drones from a
submarine's trash chute. By comparison, the Upwards Falling
Payloads effort faces the additional challenges of ensuring
robotic technologies can hibernate for years under deep-ocean
pressure and still obey instantly when the order comes down to
activate.

DARPA emphasized that the new program is "specifically not a
weapons program" and would have "non-lethal" intent. "But other
countries may have a different opinion on the definition of
"non-lethal" for robots or drones deployed to carry out
surveillance or jam communications."

The new program highlights the U.S. Navy's turn to a growing
swarm of robotic ships and flying drones that can supplement
traditional warships and aircraft. Recent experiments have
included firing missiles from robot boats, deploying drone
helicopters such as the MQ-8 Fire Scout to help track pirates or
smugglers, and testing the X-47 robot warplane from the deck of
an aircraft carrier.